I Swear Upon Infinity
by Shinobuffo
Summary: [Olicity Fantasy AU] A story set in a distant universe, where women is the leading force, where Felicity never got rid of her goth persona. This is a story where Felicity and Oliver cannot decide whether to tear each other to pieces or get on with it. A story where both Felicity and Oliver have to cast aside their pride and done their favourite mask of trickery.
1. 1: The Return

Merry Christmas folks,

* * *

**THE RETURN**

"Hey Ollie, you forgot this!"

A young boy tossed Oliver an apple which Oliver caught with ease. Tossing a questioning look to the boy, the later shouted:

"It's on the house."

Smiling, Oliver turned around and bit into the juicy fruit.

"Must be nice to be so loved." a snickering voice came behind him.

Turning around with the apple still in his mouth he was greeted with a fist aimed at his face. Ducking on reflex, he jammed into its assailant's torso and they both fell onto a stack of old fruit boxes.

"Well, hello to you too, buddy." Oliver chuckled as he rose and helped his friend up.

They locked each other's hands around each man's underarm and pulled in to a heartfelt hug.

"Look at you." Oliver said after they had released each other.

"No, look at you. How long has it been?"

"5 years, Tommy. 5 years." Oliver replied with a smile.

"Bless _Her Darkness_, has it already been 5 years since you left us for you little crusade?" Tommy asked, mirroring Oliver's expression.

Instead of replying, Oliver simply dodged the implication by offering his friend a half-hearted smile in return. How many times, had he tried to explain his calling to his oldest friend? Not enough, it seemed. More likely, this discussion would continue until either of them had passed on to the next realm.

"But look at you! You are what…?" Tommy was biting his lower lip trying to find a nice way to describe Oliver's current look.

He knew it was bad. In fact, he was on his way to his chambers at the Order before Tommy had rudely interrupted. Wearing the same clothes he has been wearing for the past 2 years, they hung little more than thread at him. His hair was a mess, the only mirror he had for the past years had been a puddle of water, and _The Light One _be his witness, that water, let alone, a puddle in a desert was as rare as snow. Oliver had actually never witnessed snow, and he has been alive for almost 30 odd years already. The only thing that was not white or grey, were his leather boots. Well-kept one might add, considering the condition of his other garbs. As a prefect of the Light Order, Oliver wore the standard uniform. Grey leather leggings, a used-to-be white tunic, a silver breastplate with the Order's emblem on, and lastly his ankle lengthened grey cape. He was also carrying a sack of his meager belongings in an old dusty totem bag. Whatever colour it once had, it now melted into his other garbs.

Oliver scratched his chin. Along with a bath, a shave was long overdue, and looking at Tommy's expression, a lot of everything else.

"Ollie, it's been so long. You can't leave without stopping by." Tommy said, as he hung his arm around Oliver's shoulder and pushed him along.

"Fine. Like you are taking a no for an answer." Oliver chuckled and let his friend lead him.

"Darn, right. So there's been a lot of changes in these 5 years, buddy. Where to start?" Tommy continued as they walked through the busy market place.

* * *

"No, I don't want to hear any excuses, Tim. You were clearly instructed that the new load of silk was to arrive today. Why are you here empty handed? No, don't say that you missed it. How can you miss a cart big enough to carry a year's worth of silk?"

Oliver could not help but smile when he heard his sisters Thea, undoubtedly temper flaring up again. Instead of knocking, Oliver soundlessly slid into the chamber his father used as his office back when he was still in charge.

"..and what is this, Tim?" Thea lashed out.

Oliver just barely dodged the flying object that was aimed at the boy standing in front of the huge mahogany desk. The boy, Tim apparently, was blocking the view of his sister but not whatever Thea had just flung at him. The object in question hit the wall next to Oliver and slid down unceremoniously. Picking it up, he found out that it was a cute neat slipper with advanced embroidery on top of it.

"300 pairs of silk slippers! 300! Tim, why on earth are there 300 pairs of silk slippers downstairs?" Thea continued. The poor little boy was shivering and did not dare to talk back to the lady.

"No, nevermind, you wouldn't know even if I threatened to withhold your remaining salary for the rest of your life. " Thea now stood up and was going through the rows of books stacked neatly on shelves behind her desk. "300 pairs of silk slippers, in the summer, hah! What am I supposed to do?" she muttered by herself.

Oliver found the scene rather amusing, but did not dare to interrupt her in her own rants. Instead he motioned for the boy to leave the room quietly and took his place. Clearing his throat loudly, he simply waited for her to acknowledge his presence. With her back to him still, she replied with an unmistakably irritation.

"Now what? Tim, why are you still here? You still need to resolve the silk issue. Go ahead, run along now. I don't have all day long."

"Hello, sis." Oliver offered smugly.

Dropping the ledger she was holding, she spun around.

"Ollie!" She exclaimed and ran into his outstretched arms.

"I knew it! You're back. You're back!"

"Missed you too, Speedy." Oliver muttered into her ears.

* * *

"So what, Tommy has failed to tell you is that he is married? Meaning, he won't be able to fool around with you anymore, Ollie." Thea said smugly as she was toying with a few grapes.

Oliver looked over at his friend with an arched eyebrow, sending Tommy as questioning look. The later one suddenly was in a rush to drown the wine goblet in one go.

"But that's not all, Ollie. A lot have changed…" Thea trailed off.

The three of them were sitting in the drawing room enjoying some catching up time. Thea had cleared off all the staff and they were discussing what's been going on, for the past 5 years that Oliver had been gone.

Thea's comment, made Oliver switch his attention back to his sister. She did not meet his eye at first. But then, finally she rose and moved from her seat and walked towards him. The swish, swish sound of her gown, reminded Oliver that his sister had grown quite the bit. In fact, it has already been over two years since she passed the year of becoming of age. Two years ago she could marry if she had wished for it. Getting hold of both his hands, she played with them for some time, just like how she has always done. Oliver lifted the corner of his mouth when he remembered Thea as a toddler. Their father had passed just when Thea turned 5 years old. Being the only man in the house, he had made it his personal mission to see to her upbringing, despite the amount of manpower that was available. In contrast to his current look, the House of Queen was of noble decent. His mother's side of the family was a long distant of the current reigning Queen. It was perhaps the name and its implication that drove Oliver to join the order in the first place. A place, where he was a nobody, because everyone was somebody. Many claim the order was a place of charlatans, because they only accepted noble-borns. But Oliver knew, that the healers and teachers and whatever else the Order produced, were most welcomed by the people in this nation. Had it not been for those stubborn _sisters_… No, he was now home, and Thea clearly had something important to tell him. Work could wait.

Stopping her fingering, Thea grabbed his hands and settled down on the seat next to him.

"Oliver, you see…erm..Tommy is not the only one who's gotten married, you see…" she started off a little carefully.

Suddenly, Oliver unintentionally clenched his fists around her small hands. Realising her mistake, Thea hurriedly started to explain.

"No, not me."

Oliver relaxed a notch. But if it was not Thea…Then it could only be one person…

"Mother remarried." Thea finally let out. Searching for his eyes, she tried to read his emotions after the news. Judging by how she was biting her lower lip, he must have been displaying some turmoil of emotions. At least that's how he felt like.

Unclenching his fists, he brushed a loose lock out of his sister's face.

"That's brilliant news!" He said a bit too cheery.

In fact, he had no idea, of how to react. His father had been dead so long, and yet his mother had never shown the simplest inclination of wanting to remarry. In this world, where a woman was allowed to have more than one husband and a few concubines if she so desires, his mother had always only chosen his father. It was a bit of a sudden change. 5 years was apparently enough to change her previous 20 something years of celibacy.

Somewhere in the background he could hear Tommy excusing himself. Following the look of his sister's eyes, he turned around.

"Mother." he uttered.

"Oliver." the woman stuttered between her teary face.

Ignoring everything else, he rose and took two giant strides and gathered his fragile mother into a bear hug.

"My beautiful boy…" she whispered into his ear.

"I'm home now." he muttered back.

* * *

How was this happening? She thought as she was cascading through the town square. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was about to set. Everything had been going according to plan, but something went wrong. More than something, the failsafe plan derived by no one other than herself, Felicity Smoke, went to the roof once she had been discovered today. The fact that she was discovered still bothers her. No one knew about this mission. It had been a private set of instructions just for her, from the previous head. No one could have known… No one. _Except_… giving her mind a mental shake, she continued to run along the alleys of the city centre. It could not have been _him_. Yet, he was the only one who knew. But thinking of this, would not undo the events of today, and she was in no position to even think about this right now.

The streets were pretty much cleared. Everyone was probably back home, preparing their dinner at this time. Despite the efforts of the guilds and the Orders', it was still dangerous to be around at night fall. This was all due to a stupid boy. Well, according to the legend at least. A boy who unleashed this curse, the one that is terrorising this part of the world. Felicity never gave it much thought, but as skilled as she was, she'd rather not deal with the spawn of the curse alone. Not without her gear anyway.

She cut into a particular narrow alley and managed to shake off her pursuers, temporarily at least. She knew better than to fall into a false sense of security when the situation has escalated this much. The angry women hunting her had not seen her face yet. But damned be her red robes at this moment. It was mandatory as sister to always veil herself and don the red robe. _I really ought to change that, _she thought bitterly.

Running around on the cobbled streets, her sandals echoed into the silent night. Changing tactics, she saw a washing line. Unhooking her whip that has been fasted on her waist, she used the washing line as a lever and hoisted herself up on the roof of a building. Tucking back her whip, she started to jump from roof to roof. This was probably the only advantage of town houses. They were so closely built together, that if one were to catch fire, the rest of them would too. Shaking her head, she continued her flight away from her pursuers.

The houses slowly stopped being so dense and she was having more trouble running along the rooftops. Stopping to survey her options she realised that she was in front of one of the noble houses. _House,_ being an understatement. Compared to those crappy narrow town houses, this mansion, cause that what it was, was huge. The building was white and shone like a beacon during this dark hour. The mansion certainly gave the royal castle a run for its money. Despite its size, Felicity noticed that every window was lit. This was a well-kept mansion then. Just when she was about to pass and skip into another direction, she saw someone on the 4th floor on the left wing standing by the window. Before she knew it, the figure had thrown themselves out the window and fell down to the ground. She had expected a large dunking sound when the body impacted onto the ground but it never happened. The figure was bent down and rose. It was a man, unless it was a very tall and muscled woman, which Felicity highly doubted.

The event had distracted her and she now regretted stopping at all. From her vantage point, she saw the torches closing in, as well as the echoing sound of several pairs of sandals hitting the earie streets. Looking from one scene to another, she made a rash decision. But then again, she would not be Felicity Smoke if she had not taken a few risks every now and then.

Sliding down the rooftop she was currently hiding on, she jumped into the tree which was at the fence, severing the mansion from the rest of the world. The man, who had surprised her earlier, was in turn startled when she flung herself from the tree and landed barely, inches apart from him. Rising from her hunkered position, she ignored the man and turned around. Right at the end of the block she saw them coming. Dressed in blue robes, her pursuers did not leave her room to catch her breath. Turning around to face the stranger, she tore her veil off her face and put it away in a pocket in her inner robe. Throwing her arms around the neck of the stranger, she pushed him forward and at the same time increasing her height by tipping on her toes, she crashed her lips against his.

She took him by surprise alright, but he broke free of her lips in an instant. Grabbing hold of her small arms, he dug his fingers into her soft skin. Releasing the hold she had over him, she refused to whimper, but damn he was strong. Figuring she did not have much time, she caught the eyes of this stranger. The torches placed around the mansion illuminated them. She was startled by the intensity they reflected, and more by the anger that had been sparked by her little stunt. She realised she needed to change tactics as this man was not as simple as most of them. Rubbing her sore arms, she looked into him and pleaded.

"Help me." she whispered barely audible.

For what felt like a life time, the man kept looking into her eyes, like he was searching for something. Then he finally broke their contact by looking over her shoulder. Understanding hit him and he returned his look to her face again. The light from the torches was not enough to distinguish either of their faces, yet, she could see his arched an eyebrow in question and she had to use all of the willpower at her disposal to simply swallow her pride and let the man decide if she was worth the trouble or not. She did not dare to look around her shoulder, she could hear them clearly now. The yard they were standing in was slowly getting brighter as contributed by her pursuers' torches. Just when she thought the man would sell her out, he put his hands around her waist and pushed her closer to him.

He was much more gentle than she had been. The kiss was almost enjoyable, had she not been busy being afraid of being made. His hands remained politely around her waist. Despite their earlier exchange, she noticed that this man had not been a monk. She could hear the echoing sound of her pursuers slowly fade into the distance and her brain told her to make a run for it whilst she had the chance. She tried pulling away slowly, and when that did not work… _So you want to play huh, _she thought mischievously. Well, the two of them could play this game.

"Ouch!"

Grinning over her win, she turned around to leave. But after five steps towards the fence, she turned around. He still stood there rubbing his wound. Biting her lower lip, she was hit by a sudden guilt. He had helped her. It is not that she had not repaid him more than double already, but looking in the direction of her pursuers, she heaved a big sigh and walked back towards the stranger again. Hooking her finger by the neck of his tunic, she pulled him to her eyelevel. She did not kiss him. Instead she licked the thorn part of the lower lip she had bit earlier. The wound was instantly healed and she heard him let out a soft moan. Smiling, she turned around and hoisted her belt onto a tree branch. Without a second glance, she hoisted herself across the fence and was on her way.


	2. 2: The Meeting

**2: The Meeting**

_"__Nathaniel, look at me."_

_He looked up from the ground and faced the woman who had spoken to him. She was a delicate little thing. Her head barely reaching his shoulder, her fair hair was contrasted by her dark green eyes. Beautiful. __**But who was she?**__ Grabbing his hand in her small ones, she locked her eyes with him._

_"__Nathaniel, you must promise me that you'll do it. Promise me?"_

_Her eyes shone with the determination, yet, he could not utter the words. There had to be another way._

_"__No! You can't do this. There has to be another way, Claudia!" he shouted and broke free from her hold. _

**_Claudia? Her name was Claudia?_**

_"__Nathaniel, there isn't any other way. We've been through this. You promised me you would do it." _

_She had not tried to touch him again. Instead she was staring at nothing and clasping her arms around herself as if she was freezing. But she could not be, it was late spring, the beginning of summer, if anything, it was excruciatingly hot._

_He remembered. He had promised her on that very first day they had met. He had promised to follow her lead, despite the ambiguity of her quest. He had promised her a few nights ago when they had laid together underneath the naked sky, when she had finally revealed the last stage of her quest. Suicide quest. He had promised her to… standing there looking at her from the side, he realised that he could not do it. Rather, he refused to do it. Everything had changed and he was no longer the man he used to be. She was no longer someone who he followed due to a meagre exchange of gold. _

_"__Nathaniel, we're running out of time." Claudia said as she turned and faced him once more. In her hands she held something, something that reflected the strong sun. The item temporarily blinded him. But then she pushed it towards his hands and the despite the hot temperature, his body shrugged from the coldness of the steel._

_"__Claud, I won't…"_

_"__I've already made up my mind and so have you. Either you're going to help, or I swear to Her Darkness that I'll look for somebody else to do it."_

_"__And how will you accomplish that? The last being close enough to a human being we passed, was a fortnight ago. There's only you and me and this endless wasteland!" he screamed._

_Suddenly, she clasped one side of his cheek fondly. _

_"__What must be done, shall be done. No matter how much you're struggling, the universe has a tendency to get its way. I'd lie if I claim to not be afraid, I'm terrified really. Let me go knowing that at least someone will remember my existence." Claudia said, whilst giving a sad smile. _

_"__What you are talking about is stupid. Do I really need to spell it out for you?" _

_"__No need. I know. It's fine. I've got no regrets." so she said, and yet he did not miss the single teardrop that fell._

_He finally accepted the dagger and raised it. Looking at her, he saw her inner struggle. He was ashamed of his cowardice, and proud at the same time for her bravery. Claudia was being brave enough for them both. _

_Never breaking the eye contact with the woman he loved, he plunged the dagger into her heart, at the same time the earth below them opened itself._

"Noooooooooooooooo!" Oliver screamed and woke up with a jolt from his bed.

Instead of remaining on the bed, he rolled over down to the floor, grabbed his sabre underneath the bed, and somersaulted to the door. Standing up, he was careful to hold his breath, as the door creaked opened.

There had been no knocking, and just when the door was opened wide enough, a swishing sound could be heard. Oliver looked over at his bed. Imbedded on his pillow laid a small white dart. Without wasting any more time, he jumped from his hiding place and attacked his attacker.

His attacker was a tall man. Despite the darkness of the chamber, the man had taken no chances. Oliver could not distinguish any features of the his face, as it was covered with both a turban and a veil.

Oliver aimed to hurt his attacker, but not kill him as he needed to get information. How could they have found him here? He had not thought them to be as bold as this, to attack within the Order's area of influence, not to talk about in a noble's stronghold!

The attacker was taken by surprise, but he recovered fast. He blocked Oliver's first thrust against him, using two twin daggers forming an X. Oliver's sabre got bounced back as the attacker was much stronger than he had anticipated. Circling each other, Oliver was ready for another thrust when the attacker started to throw darts at him, not letting Oliver get close enough to inflict any damage. It was hard dodging all the darts in the dark chamber, and all he could go after was the swishing sound. Oliver was taken by surprise, when the assailant from nowhere, got too close and made a swing with his dagger aimed at Oliver's throat. Oliver backed right at the crucial moment, but soon realised that he had been cornered.

Bending down again, Oliver somersaulted past his attacker, and spun around. Before he rose, he managed to kick his attacker's back legs and the later lost his balance. Oliver saw his chance, and swung his sabre once more, aiming for the shoulder of the aggressor. The bastard was quick, and instead of wasting energy to regain his balance, he voluntarily went down. Putting both of his hands down along with his head, the attacker raised one of his legs, and managed to kick Oliver's sabre from his hands. The sabre landed with a clang onto the floor. Oliver was at disadvantage. The attacker flipped over and was in an upright position and within the second threw one of his daggers towards Oliver. Avoiding the flying object that was aimed between his brows, Oliver dodged it and made a run for the window. With no hesitation, Oliver sprung and hit the window and escaped the enclosed chamber.

* * *

"Oliver, meet my liege and my wife, Laurel."

"Laurel?" Oliver asked confused when his best friend Tommy was pushing him towards the dining room.

"Yes, it's the very same Laurel we both had a crush on as kids. And yes the very same Laurel that once was our teacher. And yes, it used to be sis-" Tommy was interrupted by Oliver's sudden stop. Walking into the broad back of his friend, he started to protest, when it dawned on him.

"Erm, buddy. I know you guys had…erm…differences and all…" he started to stutter.

"Differences?" Oliver growled.

"Hey, she's my wife. Can't you just put it behind you for today? It's not often she's home, being who she is…Oliver, please." Tommy had stepped in front of his friend and held his eyes.

The manly staring contest was interrupted by a female voice.

"Tommy, is that you out there? Hurry, we got a guest."

Oliver clenched his jaw, her voice was exactly like he remembered it. Nodding his silent agreement to Tommy's favour, they both went into the dining room.

"Laurel honey, you remember Oliver, right? You used to teach both of us." Tommy said as he waltzed to his wife wrapping his arm around her waist and placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Tommy! We've got guests!" Laurel exclaimed and smacked Tommy's hand from her waist.

She looked just as he remembered her. A tall woman with light curly hair. Despite her thin frame, her red robe showed that she had curves where it counted; _oh, like he did not already know every inch of her body? No, this was Tommy's wife now, even as hard as it was to admit right at this moment. _She smiled when she looked over him. Those green eyes were complimented by a pair of charming dimples, making her a woman hard to resist.

"Come on, Laurel, the boy clearly needs a hug." a snarky voice suddenly changed the mood of the room.

Everyone's attention went to another figure leaning against the wall. _Red again, huh? _Oliver thought bitterly. This was not his day.

Inspecting her nails, the woman treated as the room was made of air. She still wore her veil in contrast to Laurel, who only wore her significant red robe. Oliver could only distinguish dark straight hair, which was rather unusual in this part of the world, but because of her posture, it was hard to determine the rest of her. He would estimate her to be a head smaller than Laurel, she was neat but not petit. Everything, from head to toe was red, but a whip coiled neatly on her waist.

"Lizzy, if you are so free to act like a live commentator on my love life, why don't you give me a hand with setting the table?" Laurel spoke without even looking over her shoulder.

"Laurel, this is?" Tommy asked his wife confused.

Lizzy made her way past Tommy without as much as acknowledging his presence. Laurel sending her friend a disapproval look, and smiled back at Oliver.

"This rude person here, is my good friend Lizzy. Head her no attention, she likes dramatic entrances, and Tommy's stunt just now deprived her of that. But she's a good person, really."

"You do realise that I've got ears, right?" the butter remark was made as the smaller woman set the table.

Ignoring her comment, Laurel came and gave Oliver a brief hug.

"It's nice to see you, Ollie." she whispered into his ear, without anyone else hearing.

The moment was over, before he had a second to process it, and before he knew it, they were all sitting by the table.

"We thank Her Darkness for the food…."

"We thank The Lord of Light for the food…"

Both Oliver and the woman called Lizzy had been giving their graces at the same time. And both stopped when they realised the other party would not bend.

Sensing the growing tension, Tommy made an awkward noise, something between a nervous laughter and a cough.

"Now, now. Let's skip the prayer, and just dig in. Trust me, Laurel is a master when it comes to delicious food."

Oliver and the other woman were still sending daggers with their eyes. And then it hit him. Those dark green eyes with specks of gold. If he was not mistaken…

"Lizzy, we are about to eat, and there's no one but family here." Laurel reprimanded her female companion as she was pouring stew into her husband's bowl.

Never, breaking their eye contact, the woman slowly untied her veil.

Tommy let out a big sigh.

"You sisters really know how to do it. My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, but Lizzy, you are not far behind."

Oliver looked over at the face of Lizzy. Without as much as displacing a muscle on his face, he finally recognised the woman from last night. Also, judging from the woman's smirk, she must have known it was him from the moment he stepped into the room.

Handing him the wine, she did not remove her hands from the carafe instantly, instead she greeted him.

"Nice to see you again."

Taking the carafe, his hands temporarily grazed hers. It was strange, he did not feel it yesterday, but it was unmistakably there. She must be a very powerful magic user then. But why did she hide it yesterday, and not today?

"Likewise."

"You guys already know each other?" Laurel's tone was a bit strained.

Lizzy finally let go of the carafe and Oliver filled his goblet with wine.

"Knowing someone is the same as having a relationship with someone. And that is not what's between me and _him._" Lizzy causally said and put some bread in her mouth.

Oliver looked at her mouth as she opened it to eat some of the stew.

"Ahem." came Tommy's not so discreet reminder.

"Sorry, I didn't get that much sleep last night." Oliver excused himself and looked over at Laurel with a smile. He could sense that Lizzy's eyes, settled on him for just a second when he had mentioned last night. _Interesting._

"To answer your question, Laurel, I have to agree with Lizzy. We are complete strangers, this is the first time we are introduced. Though," Oliver started to pull his bread apart casually, "I would not mind establishing a _relationship_ with someone as lovely as Lizzy over there."

There was a sudden pin drop silence that was broken by Lizzy coughing.

She was clearly startled by his offhand comment, which made him chuckle silently. Laurel helped her friend, by handing her, her goblet and Lizzy practically drowned it, before settling down.

* * *

That smug bastard. He had totally caught her off guard, and here she thought he had been a simpleton. A hunky simpleton…No, the jerk had caught her off guard once, he was not to get another win.

He was an eyesore. Despite his good looks, he was wearing those damn white garbs, this time with the emblem which made Felicity's blood boil by simply the sight of it. Despite being the minority in this room, he had had the audacity to grace their food with a prayer for the Light one? For real?  
His face was wiped of any emotions, yet, she could tell by his eyes, that her reaction had amused him. And what aggravated her more, was the obvious history between Laurel and this filth.

In this nation, there was the typical feudal system. They got a strong Queen, who rules without a King at the moment. Beneath the Queen, they got the nobles, each governing a state of the nation. Each at the Queen's beck and call. Or so was the idea. Felicity knew, that the nobles were troublesome. This is one of the reasons to why her Sisterhood had been established. It was no secret, that the red Sisters, were the Queen's right hand. When a noble had gotten a taste of power and thoughtlessly believed that they could gain more, by demanding more from the Queen, the Red Sisters were sent to deal with the problem. How it was dealt with depended on the situation, but mostly, the noble would be stripped of his power, and replaced.

The Red Sisters, also known as the Dark Sisters, for their worship of Her Darkness, were among several other organisations or guilds shaping this Empire. There were the Green ones, specialising in the craft of healing, there were the grey ones, responsible for education and there were blue ones, the ones dealing with the defence of the nation. The defence of the nation was not too much about defending the country from outsiders, as the empire was by far the richest in its area, but the defence was aimed at keeping the foul creatures that were a result of an ancient curse at bay. They were top warriors, skilled in the arts of war. And then there were the violent ones. These ones have a high affinity for magic, and thus represented the magical populace.

Lastly, there was an independent Order, the Order of Light. This order respected the Queen, but operated on a more private level. Within this order, there were magicians, healers, teachers, and etc. But they all came at a price. For this reason alone, Felicity loathed them. Not only, did they worship that heather they call God, but they were driven by gold. The thought, made Felicity lose her appetite.

Tommy, Laurel's gullible husband, tried to change the mood by asking his friend to continue on his story.

"Oliver, you said something about a rough night? Five minutes since you came home, and you already got yourself a bed warmer, huh?"

_Indeed did you? _Felicity's eyes challenged the man across her. Not blinking away from her challenge, Oliver replied:

"It's a fun story. Walter wanted to test my skills after 5 years on the expedition. For some reason, he found it amusing to test me in the middle of the night. I'm ashamed to say that I was taken by complete surprise. He had me cornered before I had time to react, so I threw myself out the window for a quick escape."

"You threw yourself out the window?" Laurel asked in disbelief.

"Ask Thea about it. She was livid when the glass master claimed that it would take at least a fortnight to replace the old glass with an exact replica." Oliver chuckled.

_Thea? _Felicity thought. But it was another name that caught her attention. Before she could stop herself she was already asking.

"Walter? As in Walter Steele the High Lord of the Order of Light?"

Oliver simply raised his shoulders and gave her an innocent look.

"What's your relationship with Walter Steele?" both Felicity and Laurel almost shouted in unison.

The men stared at the women in surprise, but it was Laurel who composed herself first.

Smiling, she caught Felicity's eye. .

Swearing silently, Felicity, relaxed her posture, and offered an almost smile.

Nevertheless, it was Tommy who finally replied.

"Walter is who Oliver's mother recently remarried."

"Is that so?" Felicity muttered.

"But why –"Tommy did not get to finish before Laurel excused herself.

"Lizzy, would you mind giving me a hand with the deserts?" she asked sweetly. Bless Her Darkness, Laurel you are good.

Replying with another butter remark, both women excused themselves.

* * *

"So how long have you been sleeping with him?" Felicity asked causally as she threw a grape into her mouth.

"Head mistress, it's not like you think." Laurel replied submissively. She was standing on her knees and head bowed down.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Felicity's tone still remained casual, yet, for someone who knew her, this was the calm before the storm.

"No, mistress. In one of my undercover missions, I was teaching both these boys."

"They're certainly pretty to look at." Felicity said while sitting on the counter, playing with one of the kitchen knives.

"He wasn't then, mistress."

"You are telling me that he wasn't a heathen when you were sleeping with him?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Never mind. In fact, I believe your little past, might turn out to be quite handy." Felicity said mischievously.

"Mistress?"

"The boy clearly still has feelings for you. Use him…use him to get information about Steele."

"Yes, mistress."

"And Laurel?" Felicity jumped from the counter. Bending down she pulled Laurel back to an upright position.

"Your husband is right, you are an amazing cook. It's a shame I can't taste your desert. Oh well, duty calls."

"Mistress."

Felicity was almost out the backdoor, when she decided to turn around again.

"All good shall be rewarded."

Felicity cupped Laurels face with both her hands. Pulling it close enough to kiss her, she opened her mouth. Laurel's body almost instantly weakened and she released the tiniest of moan. She pulled Felicity closer, . but Felicity was used to this reaction, and held still. The mana that she fed Laurel, was reflected in her eyes. Starting from green, her eyes were now black as the night. Felicity licked her lips, and broke the transmission. Laurel closed her eyes, and opened them once more. Her eyes were back to being green.

"Thank you, mistress."

* * *

**CHAPTER NOTES**

Thank you for reading the next installment of this fanfiction. It warmed my heart, that you guys like the world I'm trying to depic. I'm avoiding so called "infodumps" and hope that you'll get to explore more of this world as the story goes.

I am in the mist of exams at the moment, and I'm also going on a quick trip to London, but I'll promise you that the next chapter is already contructed in my mind, it only needs to be printed out in letters. Also, a big shout, to my wonderful beta:er, I don't know what I'll do without her.

Much love,


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